National Breakfast Week: Vegan brekkies to make you raw

Lifelong vegan Ami Tadaa decided 2016 was going to be the year she started using her oven for storage, and her creative culinary juices have been flowing freely ever since. Here’s how she starts the day in raw and vegan fashion.

Posted on 28/01/2016

As everyone by now surely knows – or will have least heard it said – breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Being a lifelong vegan who LOVES good food, I have totally mastered the art of the vegan pancakes, the vegan full English and the scrambled tofu.

But as my new year’s resolution for 2016 was to transition to a raw vegan diet, it would be fair to say that January has been a month of trials, errors and raw triumphs to make you roar with delight. Particularly with breakfast recipes, which genuinely offer a big energy and mood boost in the morning.

Packed with nutrients that will pump you up for the day ahead, the raw vegan brekkies I’ve come up with are also some of the most tasty I’ve ever had the pleasure of scoffing. And trust me, that is very much saying something.

Here are my two all-time favourite raw vegan breakfast recipes which have been keeping me going even in the winter month of January – and I live in the wilds of Northumberland where’s beautiful and bloody freezing in equal measure.

Raw Vegan Brekkie #1: Raw Granola (where the preparation is not as bad as it seems, and is totally worth it!)

Soak your buckwheat in water overnight. Place your cup of dates and your half cup of water in a blender and blend until it becomes a smooth paste. Depending on which blender you have, you may need to stop and scrape down the sides occasionally.

Drain and rinse your soaked buckwheat and place in a bowl with your date paste, raisins, cinnamon, ground flaxseed powder and dash of salt. Mix until well combined.

You can now either place your mixture in a dehydrator for 12-24 hours (or until crispy), or if you don’t have one, simply spread it out thinly and evenly on a baking tray and pop into the oven on the lowest heat for around 4-5 hours or until crispy.

Once your granola is crispy, you can crumble it into bite sized pieces and place in a container until you want a bowl.

I know what you’re thinking… but what about the milk? Here is how to make quick and easy almond milk:

Ingredients

1 cup almonds
2 cups water
2 dates
Pinch of salt

Method

Soak almonds in water overnight. Drain and rinse your almonds and place in a blender with the water, pitted dates and salt. Blend for two minutes, or until smooth. You can now strain your almond milk in a nut milk bag, a cheesecloth or even through a sieve.

Raw Vegan Brekkie #2: The Smoothie Bowl

A smoothie bowl may be one of the fastest and delicious breakfasts I have ever laid my eyes on and you can literally make any flavour you want – yes, even chocolate and peanut butter. For this version though, I went for the traditional banana-raspberry combo.

Ingredients

2 bananas
1 cup raspberries
1 tbsp chia or ground flaxseeds
1 cup water (optional – depending on the desired thickness)
2 dates or any other natural sweetener you like

Method

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend on high for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Place your smoothie in your favourite bowl.

Now the best bit, the toppings. You can essentially add any topping you want to your smoothie bowl – any mixture of fruit, nuts, seeds, cereal… the list goes on.

And there you have a duo of breakfast suggestions which are good for the mind, body and soul. Enjoy!

Ami Tadaa is the owner of the totally vegan Tyne Chease. They make 100 per cent vegan ‘cheases’ which have been going down a storm at food festivals all over the UK. On Valentine’s Day, Ami is launching a new range of raw artisanal cashew cheases. There will be 10 flavours including: Original, Garlic, Dill, Mustard, Smoked, Ethiopian Spice, Pink Peppercorn, Za’atar Spice, Chilli Flakes and Sundried Tomato. These cheases are cultured and aged, just like dairy cheeses and have the added benefit of being cholesterol free. Fit for the cheeseboard of the future. Visit www.tynechease.com for more information and orders.

Lifelong vegan Ami Deane was raised from birth around the world on pure plant. She has somehow reached 24 and landed in Newcastle, with an uncanny resemblance to a human being, but an obsession with cashew cheese. She recently launched @TyneChease and vegan Sara Pascoe thinks she's a 'genius goddess'.